From The Elementary School Nurse
● Fever of 100.4 or above. Child should be fever free without use of fever-reducing medication for 24 hours before returning to school.
● Vomiting and/or diarrhea with or without fever. Child should be free from vomiting/diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school.
● Any rash of unknown cause until cleared by healthcare provider.
● Persistent coughing or difficulty breathing with or without fever.
● Yellow/green nasal or eye drainage.
● Severe pain.
Please contact your child’s primary healthcare provider for medical concerns.
1. Fever. Any temperature of 100.4° Fahrenheit (38° Centigrade) is a fever, and children shouldn’t go to school with fevers. Not only are fevers a sign of some sort of infection, it also usually means that they are shedding germs right and left. There’s just no way you can know whether things will get better or worse — and while giving them medicine might bring the fever down, it won’t stop them from being contagious. A child should be fever-free for 24 hours before going back (no fair giving ibuprofen or acetaminophen regularly to tamp it down).
2. Vomiting or diarrhea. It’s unfair all around — to the child and the school — to send a child with vomiting or diarrhea no matter how well they might look to you. The same 20-24 hour rule applies.
3. Coughing that won’t stop — or anything different about your child’s breathing. If we kept every child with a cold home during the winter months, there would be a lot of empty classrooms. But a really bad cough not only makes it hard for a child to learn or play, it also warrants a call to the doctor, as does breathing that sounds or looks different from usual.
This informational material educates and raises awareness of the importance of lead poisoning prevention. There is no expectation of a returned risk assessment. The risk assessment does not replace the lead screening school entry requirement. As stated in the fact sheet, Families should contact their pediatrician or primary care provider to discuss whether screening or testing is appropriate. Those who do not have a primary care provider can contact one of the Public Health Clinics listed...
Here are the translations:
Haitian Creole: https://publichealthalerts.delaware.gov/wp-content/blogs.dir/203/files/sites/203/2023/02/Factsheet-for-Parents_HC.pdf
If it is necessary for your child to take medication during the school day, it must be turned in to Donna Allen, Sussex Academy Elementary Nurse.
IMPORTANT, please remember:
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medications must be in the original container labeled with the correct medication, name, dose, time, and date
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controlled medications must be brought to the nurse’s office by a responsible adult and NOT sent with the child
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parents/guardians must sign a permission form for the nurse to administer medication in school
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epi-pens and asthma inhalers also require actions plans from the ordering physician
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Health Examinations
All students entering a public school for the first time and students entering Grade 9 must provide documentation of a health examination within thirty days after entry. The examination must be current (completed within two years of entry) and conducted by a currently licensed physician, advanced practice nurse, nurse practitioner, or physician's assistant. Acceptable forms are:
Delaware School Health Examination Forms - Children Grades PreK - 6
Delaware School Health Examination Forms - Adolescent Grades 7 - 12
DIAA Medical Forms
An alternate form may be accepted if it includes, at a minimum: health history, immunizations, results on medical testing and screenings, medical diagnoses, prescribed medications and treatments, and healthcare plans. -
Lead Testing
Regulation 815 Health Examinations and Screening state that children who enter school at kindergarten or at age 5 or prior, shall be required to prove lead screening per 16 Del.C. Ch.26 (Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act). For children enrolled in kindergarten, documentation of lead screening shall be provided within sixty (60) calendar days of the date of enrollment. Failure to provide the required documentation shall result in the child's exclusion from school until the documentation is provided. Exemption from this requirement may be granted for religious exemptions, per 17 Del.C. 2603. Delaware has a Lead Poisoning Prevention Program that follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.
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Tuberculosis Screening
Students - TB risk assessment, skin test (Mantoux), or other approved testing, such as blood test, administered within the past 12 months prior to school entry
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Delaware law required immunizations:
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5 or more doses of DTaP or DTP Td vaccine (unless 4th dose was given after the 4th birthday)
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4 doses of IPV or OPV (unless 3rd dose was given after the 4th birthday)
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3 doses of Hepatitis B vaccine
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2 doses of Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine
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2 doses of Varicella or a written disease history by a licensed healthcare provider
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Delaware allows two exemptions to immunizations:
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Medical Exemptions
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Religious Exemptions
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Religious exemptions must be submitted on the Delaware Affidavit of Religious Belief and must be notarized. Immunization - Notarized Affidavit of Religious Belief
Medical exemptions to any of the required immunizations must be requested in writing from the healthcare provider for situations related to: lost records, alternate catch-up schedules, Measles/Mumps/Rubella second dose given prior to the fourth birthday, history of Varicella (chicken pox) immunity and delayed schedules for children who are immunocompromised.